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Good To Go Plans 150 Sites by 2010

Expects to become the first U.S. LEED-certified fueling station, car wash and c-store.

March 27, 2008, 08:00 pm

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Good to Go, billed as the nation's first ecologically friendly convenience store, car wash and alternate fuel station, has plans to bring the concept to at least 150 more neighborhoods in Wisconsin, Iowa and northern Illinois by 2010.

"Our young design and development team has future stores on the drawing board that not only reduce the carbon footprint, but pursue LEED platinum certification," Steve Nikolas, president of Good to Go, said in a statement. "This is the right thing to do."

The first Good to Go store is slated to open May 1 in Grand Chute, Wis.

Built to specifications of the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, Good To Go expects to become certified as the first fueling station, car wash and convenience retail shop in the U.S., the company stated. The LEED certification program is designed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Among several notable environmentally friendly design elements, the car wash will use a water cleaning and reclamation system that will save more than 2 million gallons of fresh water each year. In addition, the car wash uses bio-friendly detergents, efficient LED lighting and natural sunlight to cut down on electricity use.

The Good to Go ECOnvenience Center features a green roof with plants and sod that minimize absorption of sunlight that could heat the building and force overuse of its HVAC system. Beyond the unique look of the store, energy savings during the summer cooling season can be as much as a 25 percent. The soil also acts like a sponge to absorb rain and reduce storm water runoff by as much as 95 percent after a 1-inch downpour.

"Water efficiency, site sustainability and materials containing recycled content are a few of the many design strategies we incorporated into this new-age concept," said Dustin Scheckel, vice president of innovation. "We believe the concept makes a powerful statement about reducing environmental impact in everything we do, including going to the store."

Good To Go also features an innovative automated merchandising system that's popular in Europe. Featuring a keypad and robotics, it gives customers secure, 24-hour access to a wide selection of things like milk, diapers, food and other sundries. Its fuel pumps have diversified ethanol-based fuel blending options including E85 and the traditional E10.

"When it comes to our customers, we haven't set out to change the direction the wind blows. Rather, we have adjusted our sails," Angie Nikolas, vice president of neighborhood relations for Good to Go, said in a statement. "We're very proud to bring 24-hour convenience that minimizes the impact we make on our environment."